Do It Yourself : Time Capsule

A man in France ordered that his home be sealed for 100 years after his death. The home was recently reopened and serves as a fascinating view into the lives of the French in the early 1900’s. While we find the idea of an entire house functioning as a time capsule we don’t happen to have an extra home to spare.

Instead, we made a box sized time capsule and filled it with personal mementos, business cards, and questionnaires that covered all the details of our lives in that moment. We buried it in a garden and plan to open it in 5 years. It will be so much fun to see what has changed, what has come to fruition, and what has stayed the same. Here’s what you’ll need to make one yourself:

WHAT/ WHERE:

French House à BBC News

Box à Save On Crafts

Bags à Ziploc

Paper à Kate’s Paperie

Markers à Sharpie

Do It Yourself : Care Packages

One of the universal truths we’ve discovered over the past few years is that everyone – male or female, young or old – loves snail mail. Care packages are the holy grail of parcel post.  They’re a great way to stay in touch and send a little love and they aren’t difficult or expensive to make.

Our dear friend Shaun recently moved to Canada. He’s one of the most talented designers we know and we can’t wait to see the first collection under his new label!

We decided to send him a care package to inspire him as he develops his new line of clothing. Here’s how we did it:

 Shaun mentioned that his new collection will be inspired by the Native Americans of Canada. We decided to throw together some earthy elements like wooden buttons, turquoise beads, strips of leather, and earthen colored zippers to inspire him. We also made some silly composite pictures of his head superimposed on the body of a designer taking his final bow down the runway and paper feathers galore. 

The Final Contents looked like this:

 Another dear friend, Mary Katherine, has been slaving away at her job for the past several months. We decided to send her a care package to make her workspace a little bit more enjoyable. Here are some goodies to send the workhorse in your life:

WHAT/ WHERE:

Buttons à M&J Trimming

Leather à Tandy Leather Factory

Zippers à Zipper Stop

Memo Mouse Pad  and pencil holder à Galison

Stapler à See Jane Work

Paper Clip à Fred Flare

Do It Yourself : Friendship Bracelets

We have seen friendship bracelets everywhere from the runways to the red carpet. We went on a hunt to see some of the designer versions and were shocked at the price tags!

Not to fear! You can make your own for a fraction of the cost and with far more symbolism for your cherished friends and you! 

Instructions and patterns can be found HERE.

An even easier version of a friendship bracelet is the wrap bracelet.

WHAT/ WHERE:

Floss à HSN

Book 1 à Borders

Book 2 à Amazon

Do It Yourself : Chic Chair Cushions

We recently renovated our dining room and discovered three things when it comes to the seating area:

1.    Chair cushions can make quite an impact in a very easy and inexpensive way.

2.     The cushions on the market are largely frumpy and boring.

3.     Photos inside the table are a great conversation starter.

Let’s start at the beginning…

A simple way to add a pop of color or pull together the colors you’re already using in the room is through a set of chair cushions. We were so disappointed with our options while searching for cushions that would coordinate with our new color palate! 

Sure, we found a few fabulous chair cushions in the stores– but they cost over $50 per cushion. That was our entire budget for the cushion project and just one chair cushion for the room would look a little off, no?

So, we decided we’d try our hand at making our own cushions and it turned out to be inexpensive and very simple. Here’s how we did it:

What We Want : Stamped

We Modern Renaissance ladies are loving all of the semi-DIY items we're finding on the market right now. One of the easiest ways to personalize an item is to stamp it. Here are some stamped items we're coveting:

We've got a reputation for our present wrapping prowess and one of our techniques that attracts the most adoration is our personalized paper. It's easy to duplicate! All you need is kraft paper (kraft boxes, manila envelopes, and paper bags work as well), ink pads, and stamps. We really like the effect of alphabet stamps. From a person's name to a festive message, stamped out letters really pack an intimate punch.

WHAT/ WHERE: 
Tank à Delias

Wall paper à Anthropologie

Pillow cases à Urban Outfitters

Door mat à Ballard Designs

V-neck à Anthropologie

What We Want : Chic Tie- Dye

We are having a sudden and inexplicable love of tie-dye and dip-dye items right now. The look is anything but hippie or boho. Rather, the color combos and effect are chic and almost exotic.

The good news is, the look is easily replicated at home! The trick is using sophisticated colors and a well constructed fabric base. Rather than tie-dye a basic T-shirt, try a button down blouse or silk shorts.

Here are the steps:

1. Fill a medium sized pot 1/2 way with water and 1 tablespoon of salt.
2. Bring liquid to a boil on the stove and stir in RIT dye.
3. Bring liquid down to a medium heat.
4. Here's where you get the choice of Dip Dying or Tie Dying:
*To Dip Dye, simply dip the bottom 1/3 of the garment or accessory into the pot. After 2 minutes, raise the garment up so that only 1/4 of the fabric is in the pot. After 2 minutes, rinse the entire garment in the sink with cold water and lay out to dry.

*To Tie Dye, bundle the garment up and place rubber bands around the item in random places. You can either dip the garment in different colored pots or submerge the entire item in the pot. With this technique, only leave the garment in for a few seconds. Leave the garment on a trash bag while the dye sets into the fabric. After 30 minutes, rinse the entire item in the sink with cold water and lay out to dry.

*Note, newly dyed items should be washed separately for the first few washes.

WHAT/ WHERE:

Check Print Shirt à Burberry

Pillow à West Elm              

Tape à Crate & Barrel      

Sheath Dress à Bottega Veneta      

Dyeà Rit          

Jeans à Vince      

What We Want : Fonts

The modern side of us just loves when customization is made simple. How can you make your business cards, resume, or stationery stand out?

There are thousands of fonts available to download onto your computer for free. From elegant cursives to hand-drawn alphabets, the sky is the limit.

 Don’t take our word for it. Here two examples where the font really makes a statement on business cards.

 WHAT/ WHERE:

Fonts to download à Search here or here!

What We Want : Dots

Polka dots feel passé but this messier take on dots feels just right. The look is unsystematic but clean—nothing grungy about it!

Don’t worry about spending an arm and a leg on this style. You can easily replicate it yourself. 

We'll show you how...

What We Want : Chic in Chains

For the past several seasons, while “rocker-chic” reigned over the runways, chain embellishments skewed towards the harsh, grungy, and tough. Androgyny and don’t-mess-with-me style took center stage.

It’s time for a palate cleanser...